A New Site, A New Beginning

Where there's a beginning there's an end. And where there's an end... well sometimes that just signals a new beginning which comes straight after. This would be one of those kinds of beginnings. So here I am back on the web with a brand new site all my own. I'm not going to get into the reasons again why I've left the Dbzoa but I am going to start out with a story. Back in mid-2003 it was a pretty dark time for Dragon Ball fans. Funimation had recently announced they were putting rap music in DBGT. This decision however managed to trigger a major outrage among pretty much all DBZ fans, something which hadn't happened since DBZ Season 3 came out. Fans across all spectrums were strongly demanding that Funimation just leave in the original music, that somebody start a petition to stop them, (despite how maligned Dbz-related petitions had become by then) or do something else, anything, to try and stop them. Even old prominent dbz webmasters who'd befriended/defended Funimation for years criticized it too. And even Funimation's employees were reluctant to defend the rap music decision and some actually criticized it or hinted that they agreed with the critics about it. Later I'd decided a while ago that I wanted to know exactly what was going to happen to DBZ Movie 8. The last movie 7's dub had been terrible.... and I mean absolutely, wretched, horrible and the kind of terrible someone would have to be smoking crack to make. It was probably Funimation's worst dub they've ever made, if not the single worst dub that's ever been created for any episode or movie of anything anime ever. And Funimation's dubbing of the Majin Buu saga wasn't exactly any picnic either. And yet, Funimation had been showing some respect to the first Dragon Ball series. Other animes by them were gradually being treated better too and even DBZ Movie 6 had surprisingly wound up with a pretty good dub. And it stood to reason that DBZ Movie 8's treatment would be a good measure of how Funimation would treat DBGT. So I managed to figure out a few things. I found out that Sabat was doing the script and that he'd done an amazingly accurate job on it. I also found out that the voice-acting, well to put it this way, had far more in common with DBZ Movie 6 than 7. Things were sounding good so far... until I found out that Funimation was replacing DBZ Movie 8's music with a number of local bands from Dallas. I got the information directly from Mark Menza when I talked to him on the telephone. What'd I decide to do knowing this? Well.... I decided to start up my own campaign to change things and keep the original music in. I did a giant news post about it that summer and encouraged fans to e-mail Funimation, e-mail Funimation's executives, post about it on Funimation's own message boards and also to call Funimation up themselves about it. Something like this hadn't been done in a long time or at least on this level. Although it might seem silly now today at the time people were pretty pumped up about it and decided to strongly pursue it. It seemed like a solution- or at least some kind of channel that people could focus their energies in- was now available to save GT's music. Not only this but shortly after I posted an interview I did with one of Toei's animators who had worked on the very end of Dragon Ball GT. The critique he offered of the company Funimation and it's treatment of Dragon Ball series was an extremely damning one. He was worried they'd do the same things to One Piece that had been done to Dragon Ball Z (ie, completely bastardize it) and had more than a few choice words to say towards Funimation as did I. It was in this kind of atmosphere on June 5th that I got an email from someone at Funimation, the lengthiest explanation of their behavior and beliefs towards the show that I've ever read anywhere. Here's what it said. "(first paragraph removed for certain details.......) I would love to comment on your feelings about Movie 7, the reasons way FUNimation handles the music the way it does, and why we do what we do but it would take years and I am really not a liberty to discuss it. But I can tell you this: I can assure you that the production department at FUNimation loves working on DBZ, and we are highly offended when you make us out to be ignorant hacks. Yes, you may have trouble with some of the dialog. Yes, you may dislike some of the music. And yes, you may hate the dub and everyone who has been involved with it. We hear you loud and clear. However, and I am only speaking from my personal observations, there are certain elements to the way a business has to run that you may not understand. It's not as black as white as you may think it is. FUNimation spends a lot of money to assure that that the mass audience is happy with Dragon Ball Z in America and that it meets the standards set by the television stations. It is their right and privilege to do it the way they want and there are perfectly good reasons for the way theyhave done it. Obviously, it works. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't have an opinion on the matter or that FUNimation doesn't care about your opinion, but there is a large factor that you are leaving out of your perfect equation and that is -- the fact that the majority of the United States loves DBZ the way they've seen it and that you, my friends, no matter how passionate you may be, are a minority. You have seen and complimented FUNimation on its work on Fruits Basket, Yu Yu and Blue Gender, and for that I thank you sincerely. But remember that Dragon Ball Z was one of the first large-scale anime properties to break into the United States during a time when "anime" very well could have been another word for "cheese toast", "cartoons" were for kids, and the "Internet" was the webbing in a guy's bathing suit. It is still running today because of the American version--FUNimation's version--of the show, like it or not, and I wish you all would just try to appreciate it for what it is because at the end of the day you still have the Japanese version that you all love so much. Which brings me to my next point. When it all comes down to it, the DBZ Otaku is relatively lucky. He/She gets a reasonably priced DVD that includes the dub, well encoded video, good sound (like it or not) and best of all -- the original Japanese mix with a great translation. In other words, you get the best of both worlds, no pun intended. Yet you're all so angry. Very angry. It's almost as if hating FUNimation's work has become the very basis of your existence while there are some serious crimes in this world that are far more horrible to even think about. You suggested people call FUNimation??!! You really think that flaming the company is going to do any good? What if someone decided to call YOU every time they didn't like the way you did something? Come on, now. If you have criticism about the show, post it on your site. That's what it's for and it should be obvious by now that we're reading it. You stand behind what you believe in and that that is a very honorable thing, but try to be a rational adult about it. I've already said more than I should and I have to leave now. I hope this e-mail didn't come across as angry or condescending, because it was not my intention. I respect your opinion of the show, and I would hope you would afford me the same respect the next time you decide to do or say something in regards to the issue above. Keep watching DBZ, because I know you will... Sincerely, (the person)" When I first saw the name of the person next to the letter I'd been afraid to even open the email. I figured this person was just going to just rip into me and pretty much kill me after all I'd said but... instead, he didn't. He wrote a really good and constructive e-mail explaining his and Funimation's positions DBZ in general. In fact, this is probably the single most in-depth explanation of why Funimation does what they do with DBZ and why they believe it's the right as well that I've ever read. Coupled with other things they've said over the years in in interviews and many other places, if I were to write what I believe best sums up what how Funimation feels I think this would probably be it.... "Funimation is aware of all the haters and critics they've had for DBZ. People who disagree with them and felt they had ruined the show, yes they are more than familiar with their views. But Funimation disagrees with this notion. Although some of their changes may be questionable Funimation has managed to make the show a huge (huge!) hit in America, selling 100's of millions of dollars to divide between many different companies and individuals including Toei and Toriyama. Funimation is also responsible for helping to make anime far more popular and well-known in America. After all, how many anime fans were first introduced to anime via Dragon Ball Z? And how many of them watched/bought other shows and helped make anime market larger and more profitable in America while increasing the fandom? And for that matter, how many people were introduced to DBZ because of Funimation to begin with compared to how many weren't? 99% to well less than under 1%? Like it or hate it, Funimation's dub of DBZ has accomplished quite a lot and become a huge hit. It's responsible for just about everbody today who likes DBZ, whether it's the dub or the original version they prefer. And even though many people dislike the dub and it's changes and strongly prefer the original Japanese version to it, Funimation has released uncut/dual dvd's for the fans to enjoy. Funimation's even gone so far as to completley redub the first original 66 episodes (originally compressed into 53) with a whole new redub which is an almost unprecedented feat. Fans can complain about the scripts, the voices, the directors, the music, the edits, whatever they want to, and complain all they want about how much better the original version. And they can say whatever insulting remarks about people in the company they want and hate them to the ends of the earth. But at the end of the day most of the fans in America are dub fans and prefer the dub version. Sub fans critical of Funimation may be more vocal than hardcore fans but they're still just that- a minority. What Funimation does to DBZ is preferred by the majority of all DBZ fans, and they feel that their changes make the show more appealing to more appealing. More appealing to Joe Otaku? Ok, maybe not. But more appealing to Joe Non-otaku? Heck yeah. And, in order to make DBZ as popular as possible and make as much money for themselves and Toei that they can, going with the safest bet formula is probably what they should do. Like it? Then just watch it and be happy. Don't like it? Then just buy the dvd's or acquire the original version illegally and cheat the creators of the show, and just be happy to be able to view it in whatever capacity because- you still have the original version to watch and enjoy despite whatever happens in the dub. But let's go beyond DBZ (and DBGT) for a moment and look at Funimation's other shows. Case Closed, Yu Yu Hakusho, Lupin III, Blue Gender, Fruits Basket, Dragon Ball (first series), Full Metal Alchemist, Kiddy Grade, Sakura Taisen, Spiral and many others. Funimation has made unbelievable strides to improve even despite all that happened with DBZ, something that companies who do stuff like what happened to DBZ ordinarily don't do. (4Kids, Dic, Nelvana) That's a lot more non-butchered anime than the two series DBZ and DBGT. Yes, DBZ may have a bad dub and yes, DBGT may have an even worse dub. But pretty much all of Funimation's other shows do not, and even those with dubs not completely accurate to the original in some capacity or that someone might find somewhat unsatisfactory still have excellent dual/uncut dvd's people can get. Thus, Funimation isn't all that bad of a company anymore. Funimation even helped talk Dic into letting them release dual/uncut dvd's of Beyblades and, regardless of whatever weird legal/etc. issues with 4Kids may have halted the dvd's, has tried patiently to try to get 4Kids to release more uncut dvd's. The DBZ dub may still have issues but these are issues which are unlikely to present themselves again in any other animes Funimation ever acquires. There are far worse and more current, pressing anime issues fans should worry instead about like what's happening to One Piece instead. So in conclusion, Funimation isn't that bad of a company anymore and it's unfair for fans to continue to dislike and criticize them so much for what's over and done with for DBZ and DBGT." I think that in a nutshell would more or less describe what Funimation thinks about DBZ/DBGT and fans critical of them today. But this is what I think and where I come from... I got introduced to original DBZ back around early 2002 and when I did, I was very impressed. I'd watched the DBZ dub for years faithfully and been a huge Funimation fan/supporter yet I'd never enjoyed DBZ as much as I did on those motley fansub tapes. The music was incredible and left deep, lasting impressions. The voices were incredible and somehow just sounded more... natural for the characters. The script itself was remarkably improved and it seemed far more mature than past scripts and everything else- action, suspense, humor, drama, excitement- everything was just better. I even found myself yelling at the screen which ordinarily I hardly ever do, and which I'd never done with the dub for DBZ. I'd never known DBZ could ever be that good and man, did I watch and rewatch those fansubs tapes for a long time. After watching the Majin Buu saga I grew more and more interested in the original version. "Akira Toriyama? From Japan? Very Japanese?" I went to sites like DBZ Uncensored, Dbzoa.net, and several other past greats and not so greats. I looked up more and more information on the show and gradually I started to realize something- the dub had been shafted pretty bad. Despite this I still had faith in Funimation. "The Majin Buu saga is so great that they just can't mess it up! I'm sure they've all seen the fansubs and love it to death just as much as I do. The music/scripts... no way will they change them. I bet Funimation will get this saga just right and I won't care what they've done and I'll happily forgive them just as long as they get this saga done just right!" But oh, how wrong I was. The mindless changes... the terrible music... the idiot script changes, poor jokes, lame censorship, and terrible, terrible voices- it was like they intentionally tried to make it as bad as humanly possible. I manifested my anger initially on several boards, arguing with and trying to convert other dub fans that I felt were being cheated too. I converted a few but more often than not, would just get fussed at for complaining about the dub while being told to just be happy with what I've got. And with just one polite lone exception, pretty much all of my attempts to complain about the changes to Funimation were met with indifference or pre-generated e-mail responses. Eventually I made up my mind that I wanted to try to do something bigger that could reach more people- my own site, DBZ Uncensored II. Let me first state that I'm well aware of Funimation's arguments about making the show more profitable and more appealing to a "wider audience." However, I disagree with them fully in their views that their alterations to the show have helped result in this. DBZ has definitely become a huge success in America... hell, you can't really argue with that. Just like you can't argue that Harry Potter has made J. K. Rowling a billionaire. Yet on the other hand like I've brought up many times before... how is DBZ being successful in America either special, unique or out of the ordinary? DBZ has done great in many different countries around the world- Mexico, France, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Germany and others. All of them while retaining the original music and staying truer to the original version have still been successful. Mexico and Poland even showed some of the movies in theatres due to the popularity there. If there was a case of DBZ failing everywhere and doing well only in the U.S then I'd agree that Funimation did the right thing. But because that's not the case I don't agree. Kind of like how Saint Seiya is huge in Latin America and Spain with great Spanish dubs but how it completely failed and flopped with Dic's dub. If it'd succeeded in America, but done badly everywhere else, you'd have to agree that Dic's changes worked. But if it'd done equally as well everywhere, that wouldn't mean Dic would be right to point to their changes as being responsible for it's success in America. In other words, as much as people loved the Dbz dub the way it was- I really think they'd love it more had the voices/acting been more better, the scripts more accurate and had the original music had been retained and not replaced with all the techno crap it got. I acknowledge that it was still a success in America despite the changes, but not because of the changes. Like Azrael once said, DBZ dubbed is one of the best shows on television but it just sucks compared to it's original version. That's where I differ in belief from Funimation. And I believe that had it been treated/dubbed better and more accurately that DBZ would have made for more money for both Funimation, Toei and Toriyama. I believe that it would have gotten far more fans and done far more good for the anime industry that's benefitted from DBZ introducing so many fans to anime. I also believe that had it been dubbed more seriously that less people would have negative views/opinions about DBZ and bad stereotypes based off of it's crappy dub. Overall, I believe that the potential of DBZ in America hasn't reached it's fullest state nor that it ever will. Thus, from both an ethics and business point of view I can not say that I think the style of dubbing has helped make the show more profitable, appealing or enjoyable than it could have been. To best illustrate why I feel this way, consider this exchange. At one point I got e-mailed by a fan from the WDC who made fun of the Dbzoa and fussed at me, saying that it was futile and pointless because what Funimation does makes them more money off of the show anyway. He also commented about the Dbzoa wanting Goku to have a high-pitched womanly voice for America. (I never said that myself but for some, that was a stereotype for hardcore DBZ fans) I e-mailed him back. About the voice- I agreed with him fully that a high-pitched womanly voice would be bad for the English dub and honestly, I did prefer Masako Nozawa to any English va's for Goku. However- that didn't mean I disliked any male va's for Goku. Far from it, I really liked Ian Corlett and Peter Kelamis and thought they did great and had little complaint about either of them- I just felt like Schemmel was making Goku sound like a constipated, overexagerated superhero. I also talked about how I didn't think mistranslating 61.5% of the series helped make it more enjoyable and about how DBZ has done great in pretty much every country it went it. He e-mailed me back still disagreeing, and wondering what I meant about the 61.5% thing. I then showed him the interview with John Burgmeir I'd posted, as well as the interview I did with two hardcore DBZ fans from Mexico and Poland about their country's perspective dubs. The person e-mailed me back telling me that they now agreed with me and disliked Funi too having ultimately changed their mind. Just about 2-3 emails was all it took to change that guy's opinion from a fan who initially disagreed so strongly with me. I didn't see why Funimation's opinion would be so hard to change... well okay, they had much stronger personal attachments and feelings towards their treatment of the show than an outsider of their company would, and would be harder to convince. Speaking of which, consider this- the Fruits Basket dub. It's a really excellent and very-well done dub of a shojo series. Among even hardcore fans almost all prefer the dub of it over it's original version, a rare compliment only a few select shows like Trigun, Cowboy Bebop and Hellsing have enjoyed. Yet, around the time it was made Funimation also dubbed DBZ Movie 7 which... to be blunt, is the worst piece of shit dub they've ever crapped out. But why- why would they do such a great dub on one hand while also doing an utterly, terribly awful dub on the other? And despite after so many complaints about the series and DBZ Uncensored and fans over the years? It just came down to a fundamental belief that DBZ needed to keep being dubbed/treated in a certain manner and that no matter how much Funimation improved on other shows that DBZ should continue to follow the "safe" formula under which it had prospered. When I thought about this for a while I got to thinking... this wasn't a year ago before DBZU 2 when the best I could hope for were pre-generated e-mails from Funimation or perhaps an angry response from the message guy after fussing back that he didn't really address any of my questions or complaints- I actually had Funimation's attention and they were willing to listen to and read what I had to say. In fact they were doing so on a daily basis The letter that person from Funimation sent me clenched it- I decided I should try to write to change Funimation's mind. After all, no matter what I say about a movie, episodes, etc., the fact remains that there are underlying reasons for why they did them that way, and those reasons will probably still be used to justify the changes. In other words, unless I could get the guy that wrote that o believe the same way as I did then there was no way DBZ's dubbing would ever change. So I then decided to focus writing to challenge their reasons. For instance this one. I wrote this article because so far all I'd done was say bad/insulting things about Funimation. I thought it was important to let them know that I appreciated/liked some of their work and felt they could do well and that they have done well. This one's another good example of that though my main motive there was to address the issue of previews in the first Dragon Ball series whether they existed or not or why Funimation was cutting them, a question I'd gotten a few times before. But more often than not I've been pretty negative and critical. Like here or here, you get the idea. I've been a lot harsher than even Psaros. Still, I just looked at it like this- if Funimation raped DBZ after Psaros and did his thing and was as nice as he was at times, why should I be equally nice to Funimation instead of meaner? It's around the time (actually, the exact time) I found out about the 61.5% of the series mistranslated thing that I decided to definitely be far more harsh on Funimation. I even remember that I wrote Funimation and their exec's some polite letters before that time but damn, I wrote some pretty mean stuff to them immediately after that 61.5% telling them not too kindly how after after done something messed up to the series they deserved to have to treat the rest of the series perfectly. I'll admit that a lot of what I've said has been pretty insulting and fanboyish about Funimation but hey- Chris Psaros- "Wow. Ho-lee Moley. Remember what I was saying in a previous comparison about the "thinly veiled homosexual overtures?" This one's not even thinly veiled. It's ragingly, flamingly, flamboyantly gay. Well, FUNimation obviously knows their audience. If going to Dragon Ball fan sites, message boards, my e-mail and whatever else has taught me one thing, it's that making a character gay will also make them the ultimate villain in the eyes of a good number of the fans." "Oh.... my blood began to boil at this, let me tell you. The utter desecration of Kaiou-sama, brought to an all time low. Enraging beyond belief. But it wasn't over yet. Next we have Yamucha calling Piccolo "da bomb!" Piccolo telling Kaiou "this must be what it's like to have a Mom!" and various and sundry references to "your dimension/this dimension" etc. Could it be any worse? Yeah it can, and it is. The voices themselves just add to the nightmare. Yamucha now sounds like a burned out surfer moron, Tenshinhan's voice sucks as bad as he ever did, and Piccolo.... oh God. Scott McNeil would be ashamed. The new guy sucks big hairy donkey balls, and is nothing but a caricature. " "What we have now is a tiny group of twenty-somethings that have probably never acted before, and FUNimation entrusts them to bring this story to life?? I am lost for words when I think about how utterly talentless this production company is, how many bad decisions they make, and how little understanding and love they have for their property." "They'll probably be sticking with their current system of having the same person be the graphic designer, executive producer, voice of Cell, DVD masterer and toilet cleaner." "My friends, I come before you with a sad announcement: Dragon Ball Z in the United States is dead. Worse than that, actually. FUNimation killed it, and is now defiling its corpse." "Actually this is more of a "stupid pronunciation alert." Notice that both the narrator and Kuririn incorrectly pronounce "Kamehameha" as "Kamayamaya." I don't know about the narrator, but Sonny Strait (Kuririn) has no excuse for making this error, since he's pronounced it correctly before." "And now we come to the issue of the theme song. Yes, the BGM bothers me, but this pile of musical feces is absolutely inexcusable. I have never heard a song so utterly lacking in intelligence, charisma, and lyrical relevance. This is an insult and an embarassment to Dragon Ball and its fans, as well as a slap in the face to everyone involved with the original production." "The saddest part is, of course, that FUNimation defiles the series willingly. If it was obvious that they were simply doing their best to make an exact port of the original show, and it wasn't all that great, I wouldn't be nearly so hard on them. But it's the fact that they go out of their way to make the dub suck that just burns me up inside. And that is what I find truly hilarious about these DVD's, and what I like most about them... the FUNimation collective are basically making fools of themselves by showcasing their horrible mutilation of the series right alongside the original work. If they actually recognized how inferior their product was in comparison, who knows if they'd have even done bilingual DVD's in the first place." What do you expect? It comes with the territory. When someone creates a site dedicated solely to improving the treatment of a Japanese cartoon while converting dub fans to it's original version and trying to get them to butchers it less, well... you can't help but at least a little bit fanboyish about it. From speaking to KevinTRod and Ultraseiya I know that a lot of what they've said to me about 4Kids and their treatment of YGO/One Piece reminds me a lot of what I've said/felt about Funimation and that I've never felt as strongly about other messed-up shows as I have about DBZ but, I guess everyone's first truly major butchered anime is always the one that bothers them the most. In any case I have had a pretty fun time and I've enjoyed working while expressing my point of view on this subject. For the site itself I've had several goals. The purpose of it foremost was to try to get Funimation to treat at least some portion of the rest of the series with complete respect. (ie, like what Fruits Basket or Yu Yu's gotten) I knew most fans by then had stopped trying/given up after having fussed for years but I was brand-new so I didn't feel that way at all nor did I think I should just go with the flow. Secondly, I wanted to try to convert more fans to the original and help make more people aware of the changes done to the series so they could experience the original version like I have. Thirdly I really wanted to know and understand why Funimation's done the things they've done and why they decided to do them. ("Why does Buu sound like a giant space baby and why does Super Buu sound like a complete idiot?") Finally I wanted to effect some change, any change no matter how small, that'd improve the treatment of the show. To this end I wanted to challenge the arguments used to defend Funimation made by both themselves and other people. Do I think I have succeeded in all my goals? Not all of them but most of them. To try to get Funimation to dub a piece, any piece like an episode or one movie, of DBZ/DBGT perfectly seemed a bit strong but when I started I really believed that if I worked hard enough I could change their minds by challenging the beliefs and arguments made to defend the treatment of the show. In other words, not just attacking the things done to the show but the underlying reasons as to why they were done. It was a lofty goal but still one I wanted to try to pursue without giving up. A good example of this would be, " Why DBZ is more popular than DB" in response to an argument I got from a va and Daniel Cocanougher (not to my gs777 account, but still) about why DBGT continued with the DBZ treatment instead of the DB treatment. Eventually though about June 2004 I realized something.... Funimation would not change their ways regardless of what they thought about them or others did. Why? Well for one- why do they have to? The movie dvd's still sell a tremendous amount each time they're released topping charts/breaking old records. The DBZ "Uncut" Redub appearing on Cartoon Network was stated to have happened primarily because of how well DBZ Movie 10 sold despite after how long DBZ ended. Otakus will buy the dvd's regardless, or simply not, and have a negligible effect on sales either way. Thus, there is no need to worry about them. And if they did dub the movies perfectly with that original music Funimation's insisted for so long they can't use? To them that'd be like bowing down and surrendering to the fans that have bashed them so much. Funimation may not exactly be a hated company anymore but, they have gotten a lot of bashing in the past. They've been insulted on personal views in heavy manners, they've been attacked as stupid, ignorant, uncaring, called butchers, and every other nasty thing you can think of and they've gotten at least 100,000's of angry/hateful letters insulting them/making fun of them in addition to people online attacking them and making fun of them/looking down on them, cursing them out and calling them fools. Now how do you think Funimation would view this collective amount of fans who've attacked them so much? Very very negatively. Like they said in their "International Incident" article they read every single piece of mail/email- good or bad- that comes their way. Even when Jon Allen visited Funimation he saw several people there stressed out after having read a lengthy, approximately 45-page letter that attacked them and several higherups in the company personally as well as how they treated/felt about the show. It was even a topic of discussion there too at the time it was considered so important. Multiply that by tens of thousands amd put all that anger, frustration, humilation and feelings of insult and despisement together, and you've got some pretty deep, strong feelings towards the hardcore fans and a lasting overall dislike towards those critical of them. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about I want to stop for a second and post the first chapter from Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People." It's pretty lengthy but it should give an insight into human nature/psychology in regards to certain things. ------------------------------- Part One - Fundamental Techniques In Handling People 1 "If You Want To Gather Honey, Don't Kick Over The Beehive" On May 7, 1931, the most sensational manhunt New York City had ever known had come to its climax. After weeks of search, "Two Gun" Crowley - the killer, the gunman who didn't smoke or drink - was at bay, trapped in his sweetheart's apartment on West End Avenue. One hundred and fifty policemen and detectives laid siege to his top-floor hideway. They chopped holes in the roof; they tried to smoke out Crowley, the "cop killer," with teargas. Then they mounted their machine guns on surrounding buildings, and for more than an hour one of New York's fine residential areas reverberated with the crack of pistol fire and the rut-tat-tat of machine guns. Crowley, crouching behind an over-stuffed chair, fired incessantly at the police. Ten thousand excited people watched the battle. Nothing like it ever been seen before on the sidewalks of New York. When Crowley was captured, Police Commissioner E. P. Mulrooney declared that the two-gun desperado was one of the most dangerous criminals ever encountered in the history of New York. "He will kill," said the Commissioner, "at the drop of a feather." But how did "Two Gun" Crowley regard himself? We know, because while the police were firing into his apartment, he wrote a letter addressed "To whom it may concern, " And, as he wrote, the blood flowing from his wounds left a crimson trail on the paper. In this letter Crowley said: "Under my coat is a weary heart, but a kind one - one that would do nobody any harm." A short time before this, Crowley had been having a necking party with his girl friend on a country road out on Long Island. Suddenly a policeman walked up to the car and said: "Let me see your license." Without saying a word, Crowley drew his gun and cut the policeman down with a shower of lead. As the dying officer fell, Crowley leaped out of the car, grabbed the officer's revolver, and fired another bullet into the prostrate body. And that was the killer who said: "Under my coat is a weary heart, but a kind one - one that would do nobody any harm.' Crowley was sentenced to the electric chair. When he arrived at the death house in Sing Sing, did he say, "This is what I get for killing people"? No, he said: "This is what I get for defending myself." The point of the story is this: "Two Gun" Crowley didn't blame himself for anything. Is that an unusual attitude among criminals? If you think so, listen to this: "I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man." That's Al Capone speaking. Yes, America's most notorious Public Enemy- the most sinister gang leader who ever shot up Chicago. Capone didn't condemn himself. He actually regarded himself as a public benefactor - an unappreciated and misunderstood public benefactor. And so did Dutch Schultz before he crumpled up under gangster bullets in Newark. Dutch Schultz, one of New York's most notorious rats, said in a newspaper interview that he was a public benefactor. And he believed it. I have had some interesting correspondence with Lewis Lawes, who was warden of New York's infamous Sing Sing prison for many years, on this subject, and he declared that "few of the criminals in Sing Sing regard themselves as bad men. They are just as human as you and I. So they rationalize, they explain. They can tell you why they had to crack a safe or be quick on the trigger finger. Most of them attempt by a form of reasoning, fallacious or logical, to justify their antisocial acts even to themselves, consequently stoutly maintaining that they should never have been imprisoned at all." If Al Capone, "Two Gun" Crowley, Dutch Schultz, and the desperate men and women behind prison walls don't blame themselves for anything - what about the people with whom you and I come in contact? John Wanamaker, founder of the stores that bear his name, once confessed: "I learned thirty years ago that it is foolish to scold. I have enough trouble overcoming my own limitations without fretting over the fact that God has not seen fit to distribute evenly the gift of intelligence." Wanamaker learned this lesson early, but I personally had to blunder through this old world for a third of a century before it even began to dawn upon me that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, people don't criticize themselves for anything, no matter how wrong it may be. Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person's precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses resentment. B. F. Skinner, the world-famous psychologist, proved through his experiments that an animal rewarded for good behavior will learn much more rapidly and retain what it learns far more effectively than an animal punished for bad behavior. Later studies have shown that the same applies to humans. By criticizing, we do not make lasting changes and often incur resentment. Hans Selye, another great psychologist, said, "As much as we thirst for approval, we dread condemnation," The resentment that criticism engenders can demoralize employees, family members and friends, and still not correct the situation that has been condemned. George B. Johnston of Enid, Oklahoma, is the safety coordinator for an engineering company, One of his re-sponsibilities is to see that employees wear their hard hats whenever they are on the job in the field. He reported that whenever he came across workers who were not wearing hard hats, he would tell them with a lot of authority of the regulation and that they must comply. As a result he would get sullen acceptance, and often after he left, the workers would remove the hats. He decided to try a different approach. The next time he found some of the workers not wearing their hard hat, he asked if the hats were uncomfortable or did not fit properly. Then he reminded the men in a pleasant tone of voice that the hat was designed to protect them from injury and suggested that it always be worn on the job. The result was increased compliance with the regulation with no resentment or emotional upset. You will find examples of the futility of criticism bristling on a thousand pages of history, Take, for example, the famous quarrel between Theodore Roosevelt and President Taft - a quarrel that split the Republican party, put Woodrow Wilson in the White House, and wrote bold, luminous lines across the First World War and altered the flow of history. Let's review the facts quickly. When Theodore Roosevelt stepped out of the White House in 1908, he supported Taft, who was elected President. Then Theodore Roosevelt went off to Africa to shoot lions. When he returned, he exploded. He denounced Taft for his conservatism, tried to secure the nomination for a third term himself, formed the Bull Moose party, and all but demolished the G.O.P. In the election that followed, William Howard Taft and the Republican party carried only two states - Vermont and Utah. The most disastrous defeat the party had ever known. Theodore Roosevelt blamed Taft, but did President Taft blame himself? Of course not, With tears in his eyes, Taft said: "I don't see how I could have done any differently from what I have." Who was to blame? Roosevelt or Taft? Frankly, I don't know, and I don't care. The point I am trying to make is that all of Theodore Roosevelt's criticism didn't persuade Taft that he was wrong. It merely made Taft strive to justify himself and to reiterate with tears in his eyes: "I don't see how I could have done any differently from what I have." Or, take the Teapot Dome oil scandal. It kept the newspapers ringing with indignation in the early 1920s. It rocked the nation! Within the memory of living men, nothing like it had ever happened before in American public life. Here are the bare facts of the scandal: Albert B. Fall, secretary of the interior in Harding's cabinet, was entrusted with the leasing of government oil reserves at Elk Hill and Teapot Dome - oil reserves that had been set aside for the future use of the Navy. Did secretary Fall permit competitive bidding? No sir. He handed the fat, juicy contract outright to his friend Edward L. Doheny. And what did Doheny do? He gave Secretary Fall what he was pleased to call a "loan" of one hundred thousand dollars. Then, in a high-handed manner, Secretary Fall ordered United States Marines into the district to drive off competitors whose adjacent wells were sapping oil out of the Elk Hill reserves. These competitors, driven off their ground at the ends of guns and bayonets, rushed into court - and blew the lid off the Teapot Dome scandal. A stench arose so vile that it ruined the Harding Administration, nauseated an entire nation, threatened to wreck the Republican party, and put Albert B. Fall behind prison bars. Fall was condemned viciously - condemned as few men in public life have ever been. Did he repent? Never! Years later Herbert Hoover intimated in a public speech that President Harding's death had been due to mental anxiety and worry because a friend had betrayed him. When Mrs. Fall heard that, she sprang from her chair, she wept, she shook her fists at fate and screamed: "What! Harding betrayed by Fall? No! My husband never betrayed anyone. This whole house full of gold would not tempt my husband to do wrong. He is the one who has been betrayed and led to the slaughter and crucified." There you are; human nature in action, wrongdoers, blaming everybody but themselves. We are all like that. So when you and I are tempted to criticize someone tomorrow, let's remember Al Capone, "Two Gun" Crowley and Albert Fall. Let's realize that criticisms are like homing pigeons. They always return home. Let's realize that the person we are going to correct and condemn will probably justify himself or herself, and condemn us in return; or, like the gentle Taft, will say: "I don't see how I could have done any differently from what I have." On the morning of April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln lay dying in a hall bedroom of a cheap lodging house directly across the street from Ford's Theater, where John Wilkes Booth had shot him. Lincoln's long body lay stretched diagonally across a sagging bed that was too short for him. A cheap reproduction of Rosa Bonheur's famous painting The Horse Fair hung above the bed, and a dismal gas jet flickered yellow light. As Lincoln lay dying, Secretary of War Stanton said, "There lies the most perfect ruler of men that the world has ever seen." What was the secret of Lincoln's success in dealing with people? I studied the life of Abraham Lincoln for ten years and devoted all of three years to writing and rewriting a book entitled Lincoln the Unknown. I believe I have made as detailed and exhaustive a study of Lincoln's personality and home life as it is possible for any being to make. I made a special study of Lincoln's method of dealing with people. Did he indulge in criticism? Oh, yes. As a young man in the Pigeon Creek Valley of Indiana, he not only criticized but he wrote letters and poems ridiculing people and dropped these letters on the country roads where they were sure to be found. One of these letters aroused resentments that burned for a lifetime. Even after Lincoln had become a practicing lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, he attacked his opponents openly in letters published in the newspapers. But he did this just once too often. In the autumn of 1842 he ridiculed a vain, pugnacious politician by the name of James Shields. Lincoln lamned him through an anonymous letter published in Springfield Journal. The town roared with laughter. Shields, sensitive and proud, boiled with indignation. He found out who wrote the letter, leaped on his horse, started after Lincoln, and challenged him to fight a duel. Lincoln didn't want to fight. He was opposed to dueling, but he couldn't get out of it and save his honor. He was given the choice of weapons. Since he had very long arms, he chose cavalry broadswords and took lessons in sword fighting from a West Point graduate; and, on the appointed day, he and Shields met on a sandbar in the Mississippi River, prepared to fight to the death; but, at the last minute, their seconds interrupted and stopped the duel. That was the most lurid personal incident in Lincoln's life. It taught him an invaluable lesson in the art of dealing with people. Never again did he write an insulting letter. Never again did he ridicule anyone. And from that time on, he almost never criticized anybody for anything. Time after time, during the Civil War, Lincoln put a new general at the head of the Army of the Potomac, and each one in turn - McClellan, Pope, Burnside, Hooker, Meade - blundered tragically and drove Lincoln to pacing the floor in despair. Half the nation savagely condemned these incompetent generals, but Lincoln, "with malice toward none, with charity for all," held his peace. One of his favorite quotations was "Judge not, that ye be not judged." And when Mrs. Lincoln and others spoke harshly of the southern people, Lincoln replied: "Don't criticize them; they are just what we would be under similar circumstances." Yet if any man ever had occasion to criticize, surely it was Lincoln. Let's take just one illustration: The Battle of Gettysburg was fought during the first three days of July 1863. During the night of July 4, Lee began to retreat southward while storm clouds deluged the country with rain. When Lee reached the Potomac with his defeated army, he found a swollen, impassable river in front of him, and a victorious Union Army behind him. Lee was in a trap. He couldn't escape. Lincoln saw that. Here was a golden, heaven-sent opportunity-the opportunity to capture Lee's army and end the war immediately. So, with a surge of high hope, Lincoln ordered Meade not to call a council of war but to attack Lee immediately. Lincoln telegraphed his orders and then sent a special messenger to Meade demanding immediate action. And what did General Meade do? He did the very opposite of what he was told to do. He called a council of war in direct violation of Lincoln's orders. He hesitated. He procrastinated. He telegraphed all manner of excuses. He refused point-blank to attack Lee. Finally the waters receded and Lee escaped over the Potomac with his forces. Lincoln was furious, " What does this mean?" Lincoln cried to his son Robert. "Great God! What does this mean? We had them within our grasp, and had only to stretch forth our hands and they were ours; yet nothing that I could say or do could make the army move. Under the circumstances, almost any general could have defeated Lee. If I had gone up there, I could have whipped him myself." In bitter disappointment, Lincoln sat down and wrote Meade this letter. And remember, at this period of his life Lincoln was extremely conservative and restrained in his phraseology. So this letter coming from Lincoln in 1863 was tantamount to the severest rebuke. "My dear General, I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee's escape. He was within our easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would, in connection With our other late successes, have ended the war. As it is, the war will be prolonged indefinitely. If you could not safely attack Lee last Monday, how can you possibly do so south of the river, when you can take with you very few-no more than two-thirds of the force you then had in hand? It would be unreasonable to expect and I do not expect that you can now effect much. Your golden opportunity is gone, and I am distressed immeasurably because of it." What do you suppose Meade did when he read the letter? Meade never saw that letter. Lincoln never mailed it. It was found among his papers after his death. My guess is - and this is only a guess - that after writing that letter, Lincoln looked out of the window and said to himself, "Just a minute. Maybe I ought not to be so hasty. It is easy enough for me to sit here in the quiet of the White House and order Meade to attack; but if I had been up at Gettysburg, and if I had seen as much blood as Meade has seen during the last week, and if my ears had been pierced with the screams and shrieks of the wounded and dying, maybe I wouldn't be so anxious to attack either. If I had Meade's timid temperament, perhaps I would have done just what he had done. Anyhow, it is water under the bridge now. If I send this letter, it will relieve my feelings, but it will make Meade try to justify himself. It will make him condemn me. It will arouse hard feelings, impair all his further usefulness as a commander, and perhaps force him to resign from the army." So, as I have already said, Lincoln put the letter aside, for he had learned by bitter experience that sharp criticisms and rebukes almost invariably end in futility. Theodore Roosevelt said that when he, as President, was confronted with a perplexing problem, he used to lean back and look up at a large painting of Lincoln which hung above his desk in the White House and ask himself, "What would Lincoln do if he were in my shoes? How would he solve this problem?" The next time we are tempted to admonish somebody, /let's pull a five-dollar bill out of our pocket, look at Lincoln's picture on the bill, and ask. "How would Lincoln handle this problem if he had it?" Mark Twain lost his temper occasionally and wrote letters that turned the Paper brown. For example, he once wrote to a man who had aroused his ire: "The thing for you is a burial permit. You have only to speak and I will see that you get it." On another occasion he wrote to an editor about a proofreader's attempts to "improve my spelling and punctuation." He ordered: "Set the matter according to my copy hereafter and see that the proofreader retains his suggestions in the mush of his decayed brain." The writing of these stinging letters made Mark Twain feel better. They allowed him to blow off steam, and the letters didn't do any real harm, because Mark's wife secretly lifted them out of the mail. They were never sent. Do you know someone you would like to change and regulate and improve? Good! That is fine. I am all in favor of it, But why not begin on yourself? From a purely selfish standpoint, that is a lot more profitable than trying to improve others - yes, and a lot less dangerous. "Don't complain about the snow on your neighbor's roof," said Confucius, "when your own doorstep is unclean." When I was still young and trying hard to impress people, I wrote a foolish letter to Richard Harding Davis, an author who once loomed large on the literary horizon of America. I was preparing a magazine article about authors, and I asked Davis to tell me about his method of work. A few weeks earlier, I had received a letter from someone with this notation at the bottom: "Dictated but not read." I was quite impressed. I felt that the writer must be very big and busy and important. I wasn't the slightest bit busy, but I was eager to make an impression on Richard Harding Davis, so I ended my short note with the words: "Dictated but not read." He never troubled to answer the letter. He simply returned it to me with this scribbled across the bottom: "Your bad manners are exceeded only by your bad manners." True, I had blundered, and perhaps I deserved this rebuke. But, being human, I resented it. I resented it so sharply that when I read of the death of Richard Harding Davis ten years later, the one thought that still persisted in my mind - I am ashamed to admit - was the hurt he had given me. If you and I want to stir up a resentment tomorrow that may rankle across the decades and endure until death, just let us indulge in a little stinging criticism-no matter how certain we are that it is justified. When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity. Bitter criticism caused the sensitive Thomas Hardy, one of the finest novelists ever to enrich English literature, to give up forever the writing of fiction. Criticism drove Thomas Chatterton, the English poet, to suicide. Benjamin Franklin, tactless in his youth, became so diplomatic, so adroit at handling people, that he was made American Ambassador to France. The secret of his success? "I will speak ill of no man," he said, " . . and speak all the good I know of everybody." Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be under-standing and forgiving. "A great man shows his greatness," said Carlyle, "by the way he treats little men." Bob Hoover, a famous test pilot and frequent per-former at air shows, was returning to his home in Los Angeles from an air show in San Diego. As described in the magazine Flight Operations, at three hundred feet in the air, both engines suddenly stopped. By deft maneuvering he managed to land the plane, but it was badly damaged although nobody was hurt. Hoover's first act after the emergency landing was to inspect the airplane's fuel. Just as he suspected, the World War II propeller plane he had been flying had been fueled with jet fuel rather than gasoline. Upon returning to the airport, he asked to see the mechanic who had serviced his airplane. The young man was sick with the agony of his mistake. Tears streamed down his face as Hoover approached. He had just caused the loss of a very expensive plane and could have caused the loss of three lives as well. You can imagine Hoover's anger. One could anticipate the tongue-lashing that this proud and precise pilot would unleash for that carelessness. But Hoover didn't scold the mechanic; he didn't even criticize him. Instead, he put his big arm around the man's shoulder and said, "To show you I'm sure that you'll never do this again, I want you to service my F-51 tomorrow." Often parents are tempted to criticize their children. You would expect me to say "don't." But I will not, I am merely going to say, "Before you criticize them, read one of the classics of American journalism, 'Father Forgets.' " It originally appeared as an editorial in the People's Home Journnl. We are reprinting it here with the author's permission, as condensed in the Reader's Digest: "Father Forgets" is one of those little pieces which-dashed of in a moment of sincere feeling - strikes an echoing chord in so many readers as to become a perenial reprint favorite. Since its first appearance, "Father Forgets" has been reproduced, writes the author, W, Livingston Larned, "in hundreds of magazines and house organs, and in newspapers the country over. It has been reprinted almost as extensively in many foreign languages. I have given personal permission to thousands who wished to read it from school, church, and lecture platforms. It has been 'on the air' on countless occasions and programs. Oddly enough, college periodicals have used it, and high-school magazines. Sometimes a little piece seems mysteriously to 'click.' This one certainly did." FATHER FORGETS W. Livingston Larned Listen, son: I am saying this as you lie asleep, one little paw crumpled under your cheek and the blond curls stickily wet on your damp forehead. I have stolen into your room alone. Just a few minutes ago, as I sat reading my paper in the library, a stifling wave of remorse swept over me. Guiltily I came to your bedside. There are the things I was thinking, son: I had been cross to you. I scolded you as you were dressing for school because you gave your face merely a dab with a towel. I took you to task for not cleaning your shoes. I called out angrily when you threw some of your things on the floor. At breakfast I found fault, too. You spilled things. You gulped down your food. You put your elbows on the table. You spread butter too thick on your bread. And as you started off to play and I made for my train, you turned and waved a hand and called, "Goodbye, Daddy!" and I frowned, and said in reply, "Hold your shoulders back!" Then it began all over again in the late afternoon. As I came up the road I spied you, down on your knees, playing marbles. There were holes in your stockings. I humiliated you before your boyfriends by marching you ahead of me to the house. Stockings were expensive - and if you had tobuy them you would be more careful! Imagine that, son, from a father! Do you remember, later, when I was reading in the library, how you came in timidly, with a sort of hurt look in your eyes? When I glanced up over my paper, impatient at the interruption, you hesitated at the door. "What is it you want?" I snapped. You said nothing, but ran across in one tempestuous plunge, and threw your arms around my neck and kissed me, and your small arms tightened with an affection that God had set blooming in your heart and which even neglect could not wither. And then you were gone, pattering up the stairs. Well, son, it was shortly afterwards that my paper slipped from my hands and a terrible sickening fear came over me. What has habit been doing to me? The habit of finding fault, of reprimanding - this was my reward to you for being a boy. It was not that I did not love you; it was that I expected too much of youth. I was measuring you by the yardstick of my own years. And there was so much that was good and fine and true in your character. The little heart of you was as big as the dawn itself over the wide hills. This was shown by your spontaneous impulse to rush in and kiss me good night. Nothing else matters tonight, son. I have come to your bed-side in the darkness, and I have knelt there, ashamed! It is a feeble atonement; I know you would not understand these things if I told them to you during your waking hours. But tomorrow I will be a real daddy! I will chum with you, and suffer when you suffer, and laugh when you laugh. I will bite my tongue when impatient words come. I will keep saying as if it were a ritual: "He is nothing but a boy - a little boy!" I am afraid I have visualized you as a man. Yet as I see you now, son, crumpled and weary in your cot, I see that you are still a baby. Yesterday you were in your mother's arms, your head on her shoulder. I have asked too much, too much. Instead of condemning people, let's try to understand them. Let's try to figure out why they do what they do. That's a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness. "To know all is to forgive all." As Dr. Johnson said: "God himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days." Why should you and I? • Principle 1 - Don't criticize, condemn or complain. ------------------------------- And there you go. It is human nature to make mistakes and it's human nature to take deep, stinging insults very personally. I remember that a long time ago one of the "big" dbz sites once posted a comment from Funimation that I've mentioned several times before. It was basically something like, "We would have improved completely... and so much sooner if only the fans had been nicer to us instead of attacking us so much." I've mocked this comment a few times before but... well, the idea that they'd have improved completely had fans not messed with them is a bit silly. Like Psaros said in his farewell editorial.... "But this is all small potatoes compared to what will happen on July 23rd (the "wonderful news" I mentioned earlier). On that day, we will finally get what we have been asking for all these years. The Dragon Ball series will premiere on Cartoon Network, complete with (fantastically, surprisingly good!) English versions of its original opening/ending themes, Shunsuke Kikuchi's musical score, a much more accurate script, and even a few fan-chosen voices. This is everything I could have possibly hoped for. And I don't care how much you hate FUNimation, EVERYONE owes them a standing ovation for this. For me, the music is the main victory. It's the one thing, above all else, that I wanted. FUNimation (and even a few fans) have been trying since the beginning to attribute the absence of the original themes and music to any number of factors: cost, rights, availability, marketability, length, everything short of saying that the original themes and score had been stolen and hidden in a cave by gnomes. But this newest development proves what I have believed all along: FUNi hasn't been using the original music up to now because they simply didn't want to. It's really no more complicated than that. It would seem, however, that the fan outcry has been so loud that they have finally come to realize that we, the viewers, want this show to be presented as close to its original version as possible. And there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that FUNi would have gone on to do Dragon Ball just the way they've been doing DBZ, that is, if the fans hadn't screamed themselves hoarse for so long, demanding to be heard. While it may have ultimately been a FUNimation decision, it was our influence that made it happen. I believe that everyone will benefit because of it." I know Funimation may have felt differently in the past but I have to agree with this statement above completely. They were poised and set to dub everything else they licensed, well, like crap. However, unlike 4Kids Funimation had a huge fanbase that was openly/strongly critical and insulting of them pretty much from the very start. All of these attacks, campaigns, insults, etc. total are what I think caused Funimation to improve so much. Hell when Chris Sabat dubbed Blue Gender he'd watched all the episodes over 100 times. (well, not for each episode but all of them total) He even watched the first episode 30 times before dubbing it and did a terrific job. When Funimation first announced they were licensing Blue Gender the anime fandom freaked out. First it was just the Dragon Ball series- but others would be at risk for horrible, terrible, shitty dubs as well. This is what many fans felt and thought. Funimation was challenged strongly to change their ways and prove themselves and ultimately, that's what they've done many times outside of DBZ and DBGT. To me I feel that Funimation really owes the hardcore fans. As much as they've disliked them these people are all responsible for their company improving. Just look at 4Kids' current position- there's barely a topic out there on the net about them that isn't filled with a slew of insults. The ratings for their shows have dropped, One Piece has failed miserably, (it got removed from Canadian television and now it looks like it's leaving Cartoon Network) (later added correction- thanks to being placed right next to Naruto, it's now actually getting decent ratings. It's still a piece of shit dub that'll never catch on as much as it could have though) and fans openly cheer and jeer them every time they do badly while calling for boycotts/petitions/etc. against 4Kids while fighting with the few pro-4Kids fans heavily and trying to convert watchers of their dubs to their original versions. If Funimation's DBZ didn't have as many hardcore fans complaining about it as they did, didn't have a 10,000+ signed petition for uncut dvd's from toriyama.org, and didn't get so many countless hate/complaint mails/emails I believe that they would not have improved as much as they have today. I believe that they ultimately would have generated far more total complaints in the future then they have now at a point at which they'd have messed up so many shows that discontment against them would have snowballed into something similar to what 4Kids currently is experiencing and that they would not be making as much money as they currently are. Thus, as much as Funimation dislikes the hardcore fans that have attacked them I feel that they owe them for a lot of the success, sales and fandom/appreciation they currently enjoy. And I feel they should pay these fans back by doing at least one perfect dub- great voices, accurate script and, of course, the original music. I've said it before and I'll say it again- Funimation was on the verge of becoming the next 4Kids. 4Kids plowed over Pokemon, plowed over other shows and YGO all with little opposition, then got Shaman King and One Piece and the rest is history. Funimation plowed over DBZ, got the shit flamed out of them by countless fans, started dubbing other stuff right then plowed over DBGT, while continuing to get the shit flamed out of them, and then have just about stopped plowing over other animes. The fans weren't ever able to completely save DBZ or DBGT, but they did save everything else Funimation's licensed and they saved the company of Funimation from a fate that would have been much worse for them had they not been flamed so much to begin with. So again, I really Funimation owes Dbz fans a debt that they're probably not even truly aware of as do many anime fans who don't even like DBZ but don't realize they truly owe DBZ's fans for Funimation treating other shows right. But like I said earlier... yeah I might like this and a lot of other so-called "otakus" Funimation may not exactly like too much either would too, but Funimation doesn't have to do all of those things. The first 2, script and voice acting quality, may have improved significantly (just compare Movie 7 to Movies 8 and beyond) but the music is and will forever remain replaced. Nothing anyone says or does is going to change that or get Funimation to do otherwise. Forget the fact that a show as craptacular as Baki the Grappler has it's original score shown immense respect to, DBZ's awesome soundtrack will never be intact in Funimation's dub of the show. Why? Well.... it comes down to the strong feelings of antipathy Funimation's grown for the hardcore fanbase and the fact that simply- We are a minority. Yeah, it is possible and perhaps even more than likely we'd be the majority if every DBZ fan in the English-speaking world got fansubs and watched enough of them all to make significant comparisons between the two versions. But how the hell is that going to happen? Is Bill Gates going to give out free dvd and fansub sets to everybody in the country? It's not going to. Funimation will continue to replace the music for the movies just to spite the fans that they have strong antipathy towards and to insist to themselves that, at the very least, some of what they've done to the show has made it more palatable/enjoyable for American audiences. Because they don't have to, it won't be an issue to many fans in terms of the total amount of sub vs. dub and it'll have a negligible effect on sales. Even if there was some way Funimation could be 100% convinced that using the original music in the dub would make them 100% more money on sales for those dvd's I still don't think they would, because at this point it's more about their own self-pride and feelings than anything else including finances and it's not enough of an issue for them to feel forced to by the fandom. I know how strongly I've felt before in my belief that there was some way fans could change their minds but having realized this I know it won't happen. That's why I haven't really talked about Funimation or that DBZ stuff in a long while because I came to this conclusion long ago. So, Funimation has improved greatly on many levels and fronts. If they had to go back in time and do DBZ all over again they'd probably do things a hell of a lot different. But the way it stands now Funimation will never deliver the perfect product for DBZ. However the DBZ redub, well, isn't as bad as it could be. Visually it really is uncut with cursing, violence, blood and (not that I couldn't live without this) even child nudity. The script's got some problems but it's nowhere near as bad as it was years ago. The DBZ movies have evolved far beyond the point of Movie 7 with obnoxious redneck accents and references to Jim Crow laws, and also far beyond any of the terrible dubbing the Majin Buu saga got, though I've 10 is kind of bad. Some of the DBGT scripts/va'ing are actually okay even if the music completely ruins the show. And most of all first series has a great dub and great music, as well as excellent, well-done episodes that are well-priced and that contain a great deal of episodes with few problems. These are the best things fans of Dragon Ball will ever get dub-wise with the show from Funimation and, particularly with the first series, they should appreciate and be happy with what they have and accept the fact that the perfect product is never going to be delivered dub-wise for either DBZ or DBGT. This pretty much covers the first goal of seeing the perfect product delivered at least once for DBZ or DBGT. Now for the second goal... have I converted more fans to the original and helped make them more aware of the changes done to the series? Hell yeah! I've gotten 1,000's of emails and I know I've helped changed a lot of people's minds about the dub and introduced them to the original version. I know the the site's never been as popular as DBZ Uncensored but hey, what Anime Uncensored site to come ever has been or ever will be? I've got my own niche though and I'm happy with it. Now how about the third goal... do I understand why Funimation's done the changes they did? Yeah pretty much. For instance, to answer those questions I mentioned.... "Why does Buu sound like a giant space baby and why does Super Buu sound like a complete idiot?" Funimation never really did watch fansubs of the series before dubbing it. Sure, they watched clips of raw eps direct from Toei and so forth and saw some of the movies but a real in-depth viewing of the show prior to dubbing was never something they seriously did. Thus, they were unfamiliar with the original version and it's voices. Moreso than that after all the success they had they felt that justified/proved that their way of dubbing was right. Majin Buu if looked at from a certain way (like how Android 13 "looks like" a redneck) could be viewed as a "giant space baby," even if that's not exactly what Toriyama had in mind. A really funny, goofy and dumb villain who wasn't that bad on the inside but did bad things because he was taught to and didn't know any different from a long time, yeah. As for Super Buu, well, Justin Cook just sucked there and the directors decided that that voice was somehow good at the time. But anyway you get the idea. I could go on forever if I wanted about changes/why they were made. I've already discussed a lot of this above already so I'm not going to get into these issues again here. Now for the last goal. I wanted to effect some change, any change no matter how small, that'd improve the treatment of the show. Have I? Well Funimation's move to improve on dubbing shows outside of DBZ/DBGT had already well begun by the time I even wrote the DBZ Movie 4 review. Even that really good Yu Yu Hakusho treatment I've mentioned before was already underway at the time I wrote that review, so I can't really claim any responsibility for changing Funimation fundamentally. That was already done by other fans like Psaros and the countless beforehand who went after Funimation and would have happened even if I'd never done DBZU 2. As for the show... well, there is at least one change I know I had a direct effect in causing. Remember the controversy about the cursing issue I brought up in DBZ Movie 8? Guess what? It worked- well, sort of! In DBZ Movie 9 actually put in one single curse word for Trunks. Heh. Yeah, maybe they didn't get as many curse words in the dub as the original version and that one was just to show they were cursing for the sake of it but still, pretty cool. Some change is better than none, eh? As for the stuff about Movie 7 I know from that letter that my remarks bugged the crap out of the people at Funimation responsible for dubbing it that way. Whether or not that had anything to do with the next movie Movie 8 being the single most accurate dub of all time I can't honestly say, but I think it had at least some effect there and that my criticisms are responsible for some parts of the rest of the series not sucking as bad as they could have. I mean hey, I may just be one guy fussing but I'm pretty much the -only- webmaster on any site to really seriously bring up negative issues towards Funimation about DBZ in the time from late 2002 to now. So, that about covers where I've gone so far with DBZU 2. What exactly is next and where do I want to go from here? And what exactly do I hope to accomplish? Well, lots of things. For one look at the DBZ Community. Let's just be honest here- the vast majority of all sites today don't really address/bring up criticisms of Funimation and are either neutral or friendly towards them in issues regarding DBZ. I don't mean that as insult in any way- that's just the way things are. However, it's not like these sites spent years criticizing Funimation then turned around and accepted money, "hot" information and friendship from them while relenting on criticism and advertising/supporting their product. Most of the sites today started up as pro-dub and have remained that way, not done a complete 180. So you can't really can't hold that against them can you? Heck, if I'd made a Dbz site without ever having watched fansubs I can definitely tell you that I'd be pro-dub too so I can completely see where they're coming from. I don't hold this against the current DBZ Community but nevertheless I do disagree with this stance. Sure there's the Dbzoa and DBZUncensored but... most of these sites aren't being updated at all anymore. There's a real void in terms of active criticism towards their treatment of the show almost to the point that the issue is non-existent. On that note- consider this for a moment. If you're the kind of person that posts on a lot of message boards this probably sounds familiar- "I like most subs, but enjoy some dubs more than their original version like Trigun and Cowboy Bebop. Btw, seen the most recent fansub of Bleach/Naruto/One Piece?" And when someone posts in crowds where the same beliefs are repeated/reinforced, they come to believe that "everybody" thinks like that. Yet that is -not- how the vast majority of anime fans in America think or believe. And consider this- DBZ still garners huge dvd sales from fans and it's had millions of fans. In fact it definitely has one of the single largest fanbases in the country with fans aging from the very young to the very old. But... most anime fans don't think or say stuff like the thing above. And the vast majority of DBZ fans still prefer the dub over the sub and haven't considered the latter. Hell, I've spoken to lots before and gotten looks of confusement about what I'm talking and questions when I mentioned stuff like DBZ Uncensored. It's because of that that I still see a major purpose in criticizing the dub- to convert more fans to the original version. I know that being anti-Funimation is no longer mainstream and if anything being a Funimation fanboy/fangirl and bragging about how wonderful they are is far more the in thing these days. And the last time there was ever a big uproar about them licensing something was with Full Metal Alchemist in mid-2004. (not counting all the recent other stuff involved with Tsubasa Chronicle, which was mainly because of the unusual way they announced having it) Sure they'd dubbed a lot nicely by then but still- when you screw up a 291-episode series, a 64-episode follow up series and many of their associated movies and specials for several years while deliberatly not changing their treatment and going in the face of complaints, it takes a lot more than just one or two 26-episode series dubbed right to make up for that in the eyes of the fans. Like Jon Allen once said in late 2002, everybody in the industry made fun of Funimation and looked down on them for their countless mistakes and that's not just him being mad but knowing it for a fact. Even my editorial about them and One Piece in early 2004 represented how most hardcore fans felt about Funimation licensing One Piece and making it into the "next Dragon Ball," though complaints/thoughts like that today are almost nonexistent given that One Piece has one of single worst dubs of all time thanks to the other company that got it. As for FMA I too initially thought they'd screw up FMA... actually, I later thought they probably wouldn't but that there was still some chance the dub would be bad. Although they did a few really dumb things (Neel Bligh on scripts?! "Wrong leg... right arm!") it wasn't too bad and FMA's developed quite a following in the States. Regardless, the fact remains that DBZ as it's been dubbed, and it's sequel DBGT, are both heavily flawed products and that majority of their dub fans and supporters are completely unaware of the issues about why they are. I'd like to try to convert as many more people as I can to the original version of the show, regardless of how popular or mainstream it is or isn't to complain about Funimation today. After all what's wrong with that? I know I'm going to convert more people and change their ideas about the show they love and think they know and it's something I'm going to enjoy doing. Secondly, I'd like to review the Majin Buu saga. To me it's my absolute favorite part of DBZ. It's where everything ties up finally, where Vegeta and Goku come to a resolution of sorts of their extremely longest and intense rivalry between one another and where the ultimate villain appears. I really think it's the best saga of DBZ. But to be honest I think I feel this way simply because it's the -first- part of DBZ subbed I ever saw and it's what hooked me, just like how Psaros loves the Cell saga best and that was the first saga he saw. In any case though the dub of Majin Buu was really, really awful and I think it's an issue that's gotten virtually no play among DBZ fans. I'd like to review these episodes, their crappy music, terrible voice-actings (and also to be fair some good ones- Mr. Satan/Hercule's voice isn't that bad for one) and stupid dialogue alerts. I want people to know why this saga is so great, why the dub of it is so bad and why they should order the dvd boxed-sets for it and watch it again in all it's original glory. Third... well, this isn't exactly related to the site but I am working on fansubbing a 4Kids show, Winx Club. What's it like? Well it's and Italian cartoon kind of like Sailor Moon. I wouldn't call it an anime-ripoff and watching it's U.K. dub was pretty fun. If you want to learn more about the show/project you can go over to YGO Uncensored and read some of the editorials I've written about it there. Currently we almost had it fansubbed until our subtitler/encoder quit at the least minute so- we're looking for someone who can fill those 2 roles. But now we have the dvd sources sende, an encoder/subber and a translator. Once the translation for episode 1 is done then the fansubbing begins. News updates on the status of the group and releases will be posted regularly at YGO Uncensored and DBZ Uncensored 2 when they come out should you desire to know more. Heh heh... well, enough advertising for the group. What else is there I want to do? Well fourthly I'd like to address some other controversial issues in the anime community that don't get much play. Hell, for example I know that just publishing this may make me some big enemies/whatnot but you know what? Fuck it. There are a few select mediums which make up most of the well-known media of the anime fandom world and they have their own practices/behaviors most don't know about. That's not to say I dislike ANN even though they'll probably hate me for posting that but... well, these are just the kinds of things I'd like to address that get little play otherwise. I don't care if I step on anyone's toes on the way or what enemies and friends I'm going to make along the way by doing so. I'm going to stand up for what I believe in confidently and I'm not going let any naysayers bring me down no matter what. I know who I am and I know that I'm a good person and I'm not letting going to let anything anyone says or does make me feel otherwise. Finally... what else do I want to do? Simple- have fun! The Dbzoa has been anything but that and this past year has basically just been kind a break of sorts from it. Now that I'm free and indepedent of it, and most of all don't have any Karl Rove Jr. over my shoulders always trying to go straight for my jugular, I feel great. I love writing and it's something I'm going to continue to do here. The site will be a lot less serious and more relaxed and while it's focus will mainly be Dragon Ball-related it'll address lots of other stuff to or whatever I feel like writing about. Stuff like these reviews (naruto, beet), or features like this (dbz-ps2) I'd like to do more of. An example of the kind of stuff I'm talking about that I have planned is a guide on how how to download and play roms of all the Japanese DBZ games (and get all the english translations installed for them) for instance. They got some good rpg's there that aren't ever going to be officially or brought over here after all. One thing I will say though is that the new site won't be too political. I once did a news post linking to an article (which was talking about Halliburton overcharging in Iraq and people calling up the White House for over a month while being ignored about it) followed by a number of "choice" words about Bush and well, it led to a couple of lengthy arguments with some readers. I still feel kind of bad aboutit to this day- anime isn't politics, it's just a form of entertainment and a form of escape. People don't come to an anime site to argue politics with the guy writing there. When KevinTRod posted a goofy picture of John Kerry while making fun of him he got a couple of e-mails from people saying they never wanted to visit his site again because of it. And when JD did a post about the Democrats needing to regroup and kick some ass in 2006 he got some crazy e-mails because of it. Liberalism/conservativism really have little to do with enjoying anime or being an anime fan or being critical of animes getting mauled, so I don't think it really has any place on an anime site. Don't get me wrong though, there's a lot of messed-up stuff happening in this world I'd like to talk about at some point somewhere. I may post some political stuff elsewhere and make mention of it an update or two but that'll be about it. Anything else? Well to you people at Funimation I really don't hate all of you despite what you may think. Kyle Hebert, John Burgmeir, Chris Rager, Sonny Strait, Eric Vale, Stephanie Nadolny, Meredith McCoy, Cynthia Cranz, Monika Antonelli and Tiffany Volmer- I can't say I really dislike any of you. I think all of you have done some great work with the series and not really contributed too much to it being bad really while showing it and it's original version some levels of respect. To all of you I know I've said a lot of negative stuff to and about people in the company and made you guys feel pretty shitty at times but... well, I've always considered the millions of dbz fans and their thoughts on and about the show more important than the few hundred who've worked or been connected to it in some way, that's all there is to it. A lot of you guys may hate my guts but consider this- I actually once considered joining Funimation I liked you guys so much. And even though it's a talent I've never really practiced in-depth, I've always had the uncanny ability to be great at imitating pretty much any voice with only a small amount of practice and I've never even had any voice-acting or drama training before. If the dub had been great and watching those fansubs reinforced my like for you instead of destroying it then would things be different? Yeah definitely. I doubt if I'd have gone so far as to join Funimation or even try to though but you certainly would never hear anything from me about the dub that wasn't highly positive. Like it or not you reap what you sow and if you dislike me for what I've said to or about any of you then you ultimately have only yourselves to blame. And so ladies and gentlemen, this is it. This is a new site and a new beginning and I'm going to make the most out of it and I'm going to having one hell of a fun time doing so. Whether you're new to the site or old I hope you enjoy it and find something here you like. Welcome to the grand opening of DBZ Uncensored 2.